Luxury holidays in California

Beyond the seashores and swimming pools, the Golden State also holds mammoth redwoods, snow-capped peaks and scorched desert. Hop in a convertible and cruise Highway 1 to see it all.

Destinations in California

  • Beloved by artists, writers and beatniks, Big Sur – the stretch of California coastline between San Simeon and Carmel – is the rugged, redwood-lined reality of your American road-trip dreams.
  • Between the twin wine-growing regions of Napa and Sonoma, Northern California attracts oenophiles and gourmands from around the world to its picture-perfect patchwork of verdant hills, majestic mountains, lake vistas and hundreds of wineries.
  • The laidback seaside village of Cambria sits on a stretch of California coastline that’s dotted with pin forests, unspoilt beaches and small towns.
  • Sleepy surf spot Cayucos is often overlooked by roadtrippers cruising between Los Angeles and San Francisco on California’s central coast – but it shouldn’t be.
  • Encinitas, on the California coast, is sunny and surf-happy.
  • NorCal's Fort Bragg may be a vast military installation, but it's also privy to a comely stretch of shoreline.
  • LA – a city of silver-screen dreams, where movie moguls, stars and starlets party in the California sunshine.
  • Just a few hundred lucky people are residents of New Cuyama in Santa Barbara County’s Cuyama Valley, an accurately self-proclaimed ‘hidden valley of enchantment’ and a regular road-trip destination in the desert for sensible motorcycle and car rallies.
  • California, here we come… With first-class surfing, shopping, theatre, art and gastronomy, we’re packed and ready for some California dreaming in Orange County.
  • Surrounded by the stark beauty of the desert and the snow-capped peak of San Jacinto, the lush green golf courses and tree-lined boulevards of Greater Palm Springs make it the perfect urban oasis.
  • The birthplace of the tech boom, Palo Alto is still fizzing with innovation.
  • From its ocean breakers to its open grasslands, Point Reyes offers visitors 80,000 acres of wild expanse to discover. With hiking, biking, whale-watching and seal spotting on offer, the opportunities for outdoor adventure are almost endless.
  • A major California city that's really a sleepy beach town at heart, San Diego is best around sunrise, when the locals grab their boards and head to the coast. As the day progresses, the city comes to life with laidback style and a buoyant youthful edge...
  • That bridge, the scenic Bay, those cable cars… San Francisco is a dream location for film-makers – and tourists. Its compact districts, worldly outlook and cultured population give it a cosmopolitan vibe.
  • Halfway between LA and San Francisco, San Luis Obispo – SLO to the locals – seasons the free-spirited fun of its big-name neighbours with a dash of rural charm.
  • Long known as the American Riviera, Santa Barbara is more than simply soul-stirring beaches. The city is also home to Spanish mission architecture and top-flight museums that keep it a top stop-off en route from Los Angeles to San Francisco...
  • When Angelenos want to escape, they head to sunny Santa Monica.
  • Classic and cool, California’s Santa Ynez Valley is an emerging hub of world-class wining and up-and-coming dining.

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